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US: Unruly traveler had worked at State Department

The Associated Press

Updated:
06/18/2013 04:28:24 PM EDT

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Peter Jones, of Washington, D.C., an airline passenger arriving from Hong Kong answers a question in the international arrivals area at Newark Liberty Airport, Monday, June 17, 2013, in Newark, N.J. , about a fellow passenger who claimed everyone on the flight was poisoned. The plane landed safely at Newark Liberty Airport, and the man was taken off the plane under a heavy police presence. The man stood up during the flight to make the claim but there was no indication that any passengers aboard United Airlines Flight 116 were actually poisoned, an FBI spokesman said.

NEWARK, N.J.—A State Department spokeswoman says a man who ranted about national security and repeatedly screamed "I'm dead" during a flight from Hong Kong to New Jersey once worked at the agency.

The spokeswoman said Tuesday in Washington that the passenger ended his time at the department in 2006. She gave no details about his job or why he no longer works for the agency.

The man started screaming nine hours into Monday's 15-hour flight to Newark Liberty Airport. At one point, a passenger says, the man claimed people were trying to poison him. Passengers helped subdue him.

Passengers say the man was clearly not stable. The FBI says he was hospitalized after being taken off the plane.

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